Oil prices made their way back up again on Wednesday after briefly pulling back on government data showing U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected last week.
Figures released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed U.S. crude inventories were up by 4.6 million barrels in the week to Sept. 15 to 472.8 million, compared with expectations for an increase of 3.5 million barrels.
Meanwhile, gasoline stocks fell by 2.1 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a 2.1 million-barrel drop. EIA figures also said distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, decreased by 5.7 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.6 million-barrel decline.
Brent crude futures were up $1.08, or 2%, to $56.22 U.S. a barrel by late morning Wednesday, having struck the highest intra-day level since April 12 and closing in on the 2017 high of $58.37 U.S.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 87 cents, or 1.8% at $50.35 U.S. a barrel.
The EIA also declared refinery crude runs rose by 1.1 million barrels per day, while refinery utilization rates rose by 5.5 percentage points.
Crude oil futures got support in the previous session after the Iraqi oil minister said the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their partners were considering extending or deepening supply cuts to erode an existing global surplus
